Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

Doctors say fat people can live as long as thin ones

A study published earlier this year suggests that fat people can be as healthy as thin people. A group of medical doctors tracked the weights and habits of 12,000 people over several years. They found that the people who are most at risk of dying young are those who are obese but do not engage…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 17

A map of where lightning strikes most across the globe

In this map, created using NASA satellite data, you can see in lurid detail where lightning struck Earth the most between 1995-2002. This historical information can give scientists clues about where it’s likely to strike again. And with tornado, monsoon, and hurricane seasons getting underway, you too might want to know where these ultra-hot bolts…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 16

How SEO software is changing the way we read and write

Flustered pundits claim that blogging has changed writing forever, but they’re wrong. You know what has really changed writing? Google search. Thousands of internet puppies are writing “content” that is perfectly optimized to rise to the top of search rankings. Search engine optimization (SEO) has become its own art, a genre designed to make writing…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 16

Incredible video shows how 100 years of shipping changed the world from 1750-1850

The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are sometimes called the “age of transition” because the world was moving toward a global economy. This was in large part due to the widespread availability of intercontinental travel and warfare using massive sea vessels. It was the era when European powers took to the seas to consolidate (and often…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 16

The most beautiful toxins in the world

Seen from above, these tailing ponds look like shimmering, blue jewels. They flow cross the barren Utah landscape, full of byproducts from industrial processes and mining. A tailing pond is basically an outdoor toxic liquid holding tank, and environmentalists have argued that they are destroying ecosystems. Over at Environmental Graffiti, Simone Pruess has put together…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 16

Do you need to talk about the ending of Cabin in the Woods? Here is your spoileriffic thread.

Spoilers ahead! You asked for it — or, at least, one of you did. If you’ve seen Cabin in the Woods and need to talk about all the plot twists, here is your safe spoiler space. The thing I have had the MOST trouble not telling people about this movie is that it’s the best…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 13

Scifi comedy Detention is like Community on bug juice

Imagine an unholy mashup of Heathers, Back to the Future, Donnie Darko, a Lady Gaga music video, Saw 4, and Thomas Pyncheon’s postmodern novel The Crying of Lot 49. Then add in the fast-patter, pop-reference humor of Community. Now you are beginning to understand only one tiny part of the pleasing madness that drives scifi…

Movies Annalee Newitz Apr 13

The io9 TV Show Has Launched! Watch It Here!

This morning marked the launch of io9’s new television show, We Come From the Future. Hosted by Annalee Newitz and Esther Inglis-Arkell, the show will be broadcast directly into your retinas every Friday morning on Revision 3. Here’s our very first episode! We’ve decided to come out of our safe little internet boxes and emerge…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 13

First official trailer for time-travel noir Looper will blow you away

The latest film from Brick director Rian Johnson is a brain-bendingly awesome take on organized crime and time travel. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis are the leads in this long-anticipated tale of what would happen if the mob had a time machine. We can’t wait.

Trailers Annalee Newitz Apr 12

Why Person of Interest is one of those rare shows that deserves its popularity

Last week’s episode of Person of Interest basically brought together everything I love about this show: the brooding paranoia, the weird alliances between criminals and cops, the strange moments of humor, and the unapologetically intense violence. Now that this series’ first season is nearing its final few episodes, it’s time to assess. Unlike many of…

Television Annalee Newitz Apr 8

Help Wanted: io9 Seeks Science and Culture Writer

PLEASE NOTE: This job search has been closed. We are no longer accepting applications. io9 seeks a full-time writer to cover the intersection of science, culture, and the future. The job involves reporting, researching, and writing several stories per day, and the science/culture writer’s beat includes everything from the latest scientific discoveries and futurist predictions,…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 6

Why is everybody obsessed with Snow White right now?

Everybody wants a piece of Snow White this year. We’ve got two movies that retell the iconic fairy tale this season — Mirror, Mirror (released last week) and Snow White and the Huntsman (coming in June). Hit TV series Once Upon a Time centers on an updated version of the Snow White story. Another TV…

Movies Annalee Newitz Apr 6

A UFO emerges from the smog over Beijing

UFOlogists are buzzing about this recent camera phone shot from Beijing, which shows an old-school flying saucer appearing to emerge from the smoggy skies over the ultra-modern metropolis. I don’t really care if it’s real or not — I just want to see the movie where this happens. According to The Canadian, the photographer said:…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 5

Picture of the Day: April 4, 2012

Red Earth | Tens of billions of Earthlike planets orbit red dwarf stars in our galaxy. Scientists who recently completed a star survey estimate that about 41% of red dwarf stars have super-Earths orbiting at a distance at which surface water would be liquid. This includes includes Gliese 667 Cc (illustrated here by Ron Miller),…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 4

Nothing is more badass than a Chinese martial arts steampunk movie

Tai Chi 0 is the latest martial arts flick from the Huayi brothers (Kung Fu Hustle). Directed by Stephen Fung and choreographed by mastermind Sammo Hung, it brings steampunk to China. Why haven’t we seen stories about big gears and coal engines rampaging across the world’s most up-and-coming industrial powerhouse before? Now you’ll never want…

Trailers Annalee Newitz Apr 4

Hard evidence that giant tyrannosaurs were cuter than you ever thought possible

Imagine a tyrannosaur weighing one and a half tons, completely covered in soft, downy plumage. Even its tail is fluffy with feathers. Though we’ve known for a while that many dinosaurs were covered in feathers, a group of Chinese researchers have now provided direct evidence that gigantic, deadly tyrannosaurs might have looked a bit like…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 4

Now you can read the entire 1940 U.S. Census online

The National Archives in the United States have, for the first time, made all the results of a U.S. Census available online. After 72 years, confidentiality rules protecting personal information given in the U.S. Census expire. So now you can read every answer given to census takers in the 1940 census, including names of family…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 4

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meeting on 4/24 to discuss Naomi Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon

The io9 Book Club meets every month to discuss a book, and then the author usually joins us for a chat. We’re going to do something a little unorthodox for our April. You see, Naomi Novik’s latest novel in the Temeraire series, Crucible of Gold, just came out. But it wouldn’t really be fair to…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Apr 4

Do you feel more lonely after using your smart phone?

In a recently-posted TED talk, MIT professor and psychologist Sherry Turkle explains why people who are constantly tethered to their smart phones feel so alone. She argues that loneliness in the age of social media has become far more crippling than ever before in history. But is she right that connectivity is driving us apart?…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 3

George Lucas hates cities

Though critics call it a simplistic fantasy, there’s a lot going on beneath the surface of the Star Wars series. There are political commentaries, allegories of heroism, and subtext about the dangers of biotechnology. And environmental journalist Tim De Chant argues that there is also a not-so-subtle hatred of cities and urban life that runs…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 3

Annalee Newitz

Doctors say fat people can live as long as thin ones

A map of where lightning strikes most across the globe

How SEO software is changing the way we read and write

Incredible video shows how 100 years of shipping changed the world from 1750-1850

The most beautiful toxins in the world

Do you need to talk about the ending of Cabin in the Woods? Here is your spoileriffic thread.

Scifi comedy Detention is like Community on bug juice

The io9 TV Show Has Launched! Watch It Here!

First official trailer for time-travel noir Looper will blow you away

Why Person of Interest is one of those rare shows that deserves its popularity

Help Wanted: io9 Seeks Science and Culture Writer

Why is everybody obsessed with Snow White right now?

A UFO emerges from the smog over Beijing

Picture of the Day: April 4, 2012

Nothing is more badass than a Chinese martial arts steampunk movie

Hard evidence that giant tyrannosaurs were cuter than you ever thought possible

Now you can read the entire 1940 U.S. Census online

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meeting on 4/24 to discuss Naomi Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon

Do you feel more lonely after using your smart phone?

George Lucas hates cities

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead With The Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Marshall Acton III Home Speaker Drops to a Record Low, the Deal Countdown Has Already Started

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

I’m Worried About the Helpless AI Disruptors of the Future

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life